[Closed] can I still have a future without GCSEs

Hard work with can do attitude will get you very far. Be confident. The experience will get you very far. Be your own boss but in the meantime learn from experience.

Also you have internet nowadays so you can self taught as you go along/alone.

Education is rather overrated and I got plenty of them but I earn peanuts.

🙂

I would still consider doing your GCSE English, Maths & Science at college alongside a course that is inane area of your interest.

Left school with 1 GCSE but that was in 88. I'm doing ok, but its a different world these days they reckon, not sure about that. Work hard and believe in yourself.

For reference, £18k is not a well paid job - not much more than minimum wage (for over 21s)

I got nowt more than gcses, and earning good money + bonus because I fell into something I was bloody good at and had passion for. That's the key.

Just remember, every day is a school day. No matter what you do, aim to finish each day knowing something you didn't when you woke up.

Get as many qualifications as possible,you never know when they will come in handy.
Fancy emigrating? They probably have enough idiots already and want someone with lots of nice certificates.

If it's any consolation,

You can string a sentence together better than most. That'll serve you well.

The people I most respect from my school years were all in the lowest sets at school with (in theory) the worst prospects, a good number of them have gone on to establish themselves and lead in their chosen fields. A couple of them have gone from nothing to making millions, with the ability (if they chose) to retire very comfortably in their early 40s. They do however possess: drive, vision, clarity, ethic & integrity. Nothing is holding you back, crack on. Oh... & it's not ALL about the money.

Find something you really want to do and do what you need to do to be able to do it. That might mean working from the bottom, it might mean working for free, it might mean learning in your spare time. However if you do something you love you'll never worry about how much you are paid.

The older you get the more you realise its not about the money it's about loving what you do and doing it well. Learn that lesson early and you're set.

Someone who works hard at something and had a genuine passion for what they do will always shine through.

zippykona - Member

Get as many qualifications as possible,you never know when they will come in handy.
Fancy emigrating? They probably have enough idiots already and want someone with lots of nice certificates.

Got the cash you can go anyway you like.
Bear in mind you are earning £££ here and by the time you convert to their currency you can practically fulfill their terms.

Times have changed you'll struggle to earn more than an average wage without any qualifications. Best bet would be to set up your own business, start small online and go from there.

There are manual labour jobs though, supermarkets, farms etc. Its all grafting.

Personally I would advise you go to college and get gcse in english, science, maths at least first. You have your whole life a head of you few years study is nothing compared to the long term gains.

Depends what you want in life.

All the best.

robdob - Member
However if you do something you love you'll never worry about how much you are paid.

obviously if what you are paid is not enough then that becomes complete b0110x mate

Life is what you make it! But yeah, unless you are really lucky or come from money, you need qualifications these days. Just to get a look in.

You Do Not need qualification to make it.

Qualification is there to ensure you slave your life away.

You just need common sense, hard work and never give up attitude (good attitude with good manner will help you go very far).

[b]If you decide the chav lifestyle is what you like then regardless of qualification or not you are doomed. [/b]

😀

BTW op, your 16, don't expect to know what you want to do & don't worry about it, as mentioned your still very young, go to college, start a new chapter, try something new & get some basic foundation qualifications that will help you find your path over the coming years 🙂

PS: Educate yourself in crypto currencies and get mining!!! (apparently it's a future I struggle to fathom).

akaskittles - Member

Singletrackworld seems to have the most normal least nerdy people on the Internet

I think opinions like this may hold you back more than gcses!

I work a bit with kids who've found school didn't work for them but aren't willing to be consigned to the dustbin... I'm no expert to be fair, but we do hear from a lot of them that college for gcses (or highers, up here) is a totally different world from school, and helps you close that gap if you choose. Funding can be available and good colleges also usually have careers departments that'll help with work exits (or articulation people if you want to go on to a diploma or uni).

This is just one option of course, I know nothing about others.

Yes. Find out what you like to do. Do it lots. Become very good at it. Repeat. You will succeed. Best advice I never had until I was much older than you, so find the thing you love doing and nail it until you get paid for it. If the thing you love to do involves qualifications, you will find a way to attain them. Never ever take your eye off yr target and you'll get there.

Right place right time buddy. I left school with abysmal grades but got onto a building course at college knuckled down and ditched the lads from school as they just wanted to get messy all the time.

The sacrifice then has paid off now im 27 so 10 years after school im on the road to becoming a site manager now which I think isnt bad for a career.

I know its hard to think now but the crap you get up to when your younger seems important now but think nothing is free so you have to earn it and work hard for what you want. Don't get me wrong Have a laugh and stay social but dont do like I did and go out every night till 4-7am especially the night before exams.

I'm a highly skilled and qualified engineer in my field. I travel to a different country every week business class. BUT! I have just paid my builder 5 k for 2 weeks work. That puts him on rock star wages, and much more than me, he did 1 year at college. I can't fathom life sometimes.
Since when did the 'manual' jobs we worked hard to avoid, pay double the more 'skilled' work

Id have got some other quotes buddy!!! Trade work very underrated. Yes we graft and we travel and work outdoors in freezing temps but its worth it. Some joiners on price on our site now earning 1.3k per week on 13hr days 6 days a week not bad imo.

And one year at collage for 5k !!!!! WOW he must have some experience behind him the companies now seem to have weeded out all the fly by night wannna be trades. I met a "joiner" whod watched a dvd and done a 3 day course he used to be a admin assistant. He lasted 4 hours on site : /

Out of all my friends who do "officey" work im on parr or better in what I take home weekly and im not restricted to a chair or ome building. Monday I was in newtown wales next day I was in stirling in scotland, monday im in the isle of white : )

Singletrackworld seems to have the [s]most[/s] least normal most [s]least[/s] nerdy people on the Internet so I figured why not ask here.

He did get materials, and pay a couple of lads with that too. He is the best builder in ludlow and highly recommended.
When my lad reaches the desicion age, I won't be pushing uni, but telling him to seriously consider one of the building trades.

Unless he is a seriously talented dj init 🙂 , or a big brother contestant! 😉

robdob - Member
However if you do something you love you'll never worry about how much you are paid.
obviously if what you are paid is not enough then that becomes complete b0110x mate

Bit of a sorry outlook you have. Is the notion of doing something you really adore making the accumulation of money and possessions completely unimportant lost on you?

I'd add in that your not stuffed but life will be harder. When more people are looking for work then it's easy to set some criteria and screen out anyone who doesn't make it. I was working up at Sellafield when they opened up recruiting for a load of new plant jobs (starting at basic cleaning jobs) on shifts with good pay and security. HR were next door and doing the screening. Basic requirement was 5 passes at GCSE or equivalent. They had so may applicants that if you didn't bring your certs with you then you were off the list. It's quite normal for organisation to do this.

Northwinds advice on collage is a good one.

I skipped out of my degree at 20, and dropped straight to be back of the queue for jobs with some where I didn't get past the application form before being knocked back as they had a "Requirement" didn't matter that I could do the job. So from then on I've got in via various routes and built my career that way. If I had the time again better qualifications would have made for a much easier life.

You need to have a good think about what you want to do next and what you aspire to. I know £18k sounds like a lot (I started on £10k back in 99) but once your taxed etc. your take home is low, it may work if your still living at home but moving out may be tough.

I know some say you don't need to know what you want to do at 16 but from where you are you need to make some choices now to open some paths in your future.

fervouredimage - Member
Bit of a sorry outlook you have. Is the notion of doing something you really adore making the accumulation of money and possessions completely unimportant lost on you?

Err no, is the notion of making enough money to pay the bills lost on you? the notion of as long as you love you job the pay doesn't matter isn't really realistic unless the pay is 'enough' is it...

that is all.

Geologist. If hes the best builder after a year id hate to see the others in ludlow!!! Between me and the two lads I work with we have over 40 years between us in trades. Ive worked since being a nipper and bin to college to get my nvqs so I could apply for the better jobs.

Time served used to mean everything now its a bonus. Catch 22 in my eyes as the old school have the skill but dont have papers but the newbies are fresh from a 4day course and have the certs for sites. Daft.

For the op why dont you voulenteer in a couple of sectors you want to work in to get a jist of what you like first. Then find people who have done it a while and ask for feedback.

OP: GCSE English and Maths are very worthwhile, however as mentioned above you have already shown you can string a sentance together better than many regular posters on here.
Attitude is something that school doesnt really teach you. If you can show that hard work doesnt scare you and you are willing to learn on the job and muck in to help then you will find a good future.

At 16 the whole world awaits you, dont worry it will work out.

If you have no qualifications but still want to earn good money.

Then learn a trade and go self employed. At least if you ever wanted to work in another Country
you have the skills.

Electrician or Plumbing are always the main two skills needed throughout the world.
Take roughly Three years day release at college but Head down and focus then top money

You are 16 and not doing GCSE's. I'm 40 with more than you can shake a stick at. I'd rather be in your position. You have time on your side. If you want some gcse's get some by going to college. If you find you want to do a levels do them. You are 16 all options are open, take the o es you want and have fun.

you are 16, get yourself a trade, electrician, plumber or something, you'll always make decent money at that.

Anybody that tells you life is done at 16 is a fool. Plus, if you want you've still all the time in the world to get all the qualifications you want to any level.

School never was and never will be the be and end all.

You paid your builder 5k?

Was he working alone?

Did that 5k include materials?..

OP on the flipside there are lots of new Grads with 20k+ debt and working in a call centre.

Work hard now, dont listen to adults ney-saying.

Only you can fumble and drop the ball or carry it.

Go to college. Get three main GCSE's. Get apprenticeship you should be able to find 25k per annum.

Three years in the job earning whilst your classmates are leaving uni with a huge debt!

Hi, akaskittles.
I'm in a rush to go out right now, so I'm just replying to make it easier to find this thread later.
In short, I left school early at 14 with no qualifications. I'm 51 now.
It was easy then, I don't think it is now, but there are ways round it.

I'll write more later.

I would go to college and get GCSE maths, English and science. It would be a nice way to meet new people as well. Milk the caters service for advice (I think the careers service for young people...Connexions?...has been shut down). There are lots of ways forwards such as BTEC and apprenticeships that are not the traditional 'academic' route, and certainly new research points to the 'graduate' premium being a bit more wishful thinking, so uni not necessary for success. Good Luck with whatever you decide to do, that decision doesn't need to happen now but having some GCSEs will keep more options open.

On to the second page and disappointed no one has mentioned this yet

Thought about joining the forces? Great career, lots of trades, great structure, will teach you a lot and great prospects when you finish

What Houns said..
Join up, get a trade, then leave after 12 years and earn decent monies...
That's what I did, as I was in the same boat as the OP.

Houns - Member

Thought about joining the forces?

Yeah of course that's what will happen 🙄

Best not do what you do either as that obviously makes you a bellend too

Houns - Member
Yeah of course that's what will happen

Best not do what you do either as that obviously makes you a bellend too

As you are posting here you I guess you might have a PC. If so, you probably have all you need to learn to code.

Qualifications never do any harm, but no one cares that all I have are seven o-levels when it comes to interviews and getting a contract. Being able to write decent code, speak and write English and talk to the customer without scaring them off are what my clients care about most...

I'm never going to set the world on fire, but my bills are (mostly!) paid and I can afford a lifestyle far better than I ever thought I'd have. It's been hard graft and hard times sometimes, but few things in life get handed to you on a plate.

Good luck!

I don't think you be able to enter a trade in the forces without qualifications.

I left school in the mid 80's with n 6 O'levels, that was above average at the time, but there was no expectation or "momentum" for kids from working class backgrounds to continue education past 16 back then. Over the years I have found that lack of higher education becoming an increasing problem.

To get a decent job these days, without even GCSE's would be nigh on impossible. It is easy too repeat the myths that hard work will see you progress, but for every hard-working person who does manage to move up the ladder, the are thousands of equally had working people who don't, who are the first to be dropped by companies, who just move from crappy job to crappy job. It isn't about hard work, it is all about luck, and that's not worth depending on.

Get your self back into education, do 2 years in college and you will look back and be really happy you did for the rest of your life.

Yes, but YOU need to decide what you might want to do with the rest of your life. Different people decide this at different points (I was a bit later than many) and, of course, peoples' ideas change over time but, like many have said, if you can find something that gets you fired up, that's a good starting point.

Some qualifications (Maths, English etc) through a college would probably be a good idea. Our nearest college has a whole bunch of options for people with no formal qualifications so maybe start by talking to yours?.

I would agree with the opinion that having GCSE English, Maths and a Science is useful.

That's basically what I had when I was dossing about, got me started in my profession when I was 21, withut them it would of been much more difficult. I am now doing very well and love my job.